And the Future Comes Undone
by Tsuru-san
Summary: Misconception, violence, and manipulation: the story of Prince Shen's downfall and exile from Gongmen City.
1. prologue

**Author Note**: What I did with my three day weekend: plotted out a Kung Fu Panda fic and wrote the prologue for it. :D After having done a handful of small fics for Shen and Wolf Boss, I feel like I have enough of a grasp of their characters to try a longer more cohesive fic. This story will be about eight to ten chapters and is going to focus on Shen's exile and the events immediately before and after it.

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Ancient China is the setting, Gongmen City the nexus of action. The metaphorical stage is set, characters lined up like dominos each with their part to play and ready to react against each other.

There is the noble King and Queen, rulers who have put the welfare of their city before everything else—even their only son.

Next is the aforementioned son, a Prince of peculiar bearing who was doomed from birth—through no fault of his own—to never truly belong. These sorts of trials test some of us, urging us to rise above unfair circumstances and become someone wonderfully extraordinary. Others succumb to the struggle, and still others surpass expectations but in the most bitter and corrupt of ways. For the prince, an honest desire to "measure up" has warped into a darker obsession for power.

Beside the young heir stands a loyal Guard. The Prince has the will to persevere in his lust for power, but he will need the help of the Guard and the Guard's fellow soldiers.

There is also a less-loyal Other Guard with schemes of his own.

And set somewhat apart from everyone else is a Soothsayer, whose visions are growing more and more foreboding as she watches the rest of the play's participants come together—their fates tangling in a horrible, twisted knot.

Then, on one snowy winter evening, the King and Queen call the Soothsayer to their throne room to ask for her advice...

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tbc...


	2. chapter 1: Fate Foretold

**Author Note**: Geez, this chapter took waaaay too long to finish! Hopefully y'all enjoy it though, and I'll try not to take so long with the next part. XD

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The wind blew cold on a winter's evening, and the chill weather held Gongmen City in its grasp. Gone was the freshness of winter's beginning, and it was well into the new year so there were no glittering holidays left to brighten up the dark. It was at the point in the season where winter settled with a sense of dreary permanence and spring seemed much too far away.

And this evening was looking to be an especially bleak one indeed if the grim storm clouds gathering overhead were any indication.

In the center of Gongmen City, the Tower of the Sacred Flame was attempting to live up to its moniker. On the various levels of the huge ten-story palace, lanterns and candles burned as servants and officials wrapped up the day's work. The glow of the lights turned the Tower into a sort of beacon in the darkening sky.

Below in the palace's courtyard compound, several of the smaller structures were illuminated as well. One of the buildings in particular was often lit around this time and would remain so until late into the night. The building in question was Prince Shen's laboratory.

As was his growing preference, Shen had just finished a modest supper in his workshop and was now back to tinkering with his various formulas and chemicals. His nanny Lan—also the court soothsayer—had initially been against Shen spending so much of his free time with his experiments, but the prince had so tenaciously clung to his work that eventually Lan had given up trying to pry him away. This suited Shen just fine.

While setting out bowls and containers of powders, Shen flipped through a sheaf of his notes. Actually, they were a copy that his wolf friend Lin had gone over. Lin was a guard, but he had a knack for numbers, and after having witnessed many of Shen's experiments, the wolf could occasionally offer a useful insight of his own.

Lin and Shen had been friends for much of their young lives. The wolf was the closest companion Shen had after his nanny—though the prince had also grown attached to his kung fu teacher, Master Flying Rhino. And really that was it.

Shen's parents weren't even close to making that short list. Royal blood was just about the only thing they had in common—they otherwise might as well have been a million countries away. Even their mutual commitments to the fireworks seemed to hardly matter. Queen Nuo created _beautiful_ fireworks as delicate looking as silk threads and arguably some of the most intricate in history, and King Jiang unfailingly designed fireworks of such unique colors and vibrancy.

And yet it was as if the King and Queen cared little for Shen's own work, even though it seemed imminent that he would succeed them someday. Despite his sickly childhood, the white peacock had nonetheless survived to see his eighteenth birthday after all.

Shen sighed as he touched the stack of his notes. Before he'd given them to Lin, the young prince had sent the copies to his parents two days ago. The papers had returned within the hour bearing only a simple notice: "As the heir to Gongmen's throne, it is good that you continue your research, but you should remain mindful that fireworks are best served for festivities and not militaristic pursuits." That was it and nothing further. Shen doubted his parents had even read any of the pages beyond the cover sheet's summary. Too busy presumably.

In his anger, Shen had yelled at the rabbit servant who brought the message, but it hadn't made the prince feel any better. It wasn't the servant's fault that his parents didn't care.

Lin had been with him at the time, and as Shen had turned away and tried to pretend that he wasn't hurt, the wolf had snatched up the notes. If Shen desired a second opinion, Lin had stated, then _he_ would read over the peacock's work. And that he had—quite thoroughly too as the copious scribbles in the margins suggested.

Although it wasn't anywhere near the same as having another chemist check his hypotheses, Shen had been touched by Lin's effort—especially considering the fact that his friend had plenty of responsibilities of his own. However, the King and Queen's dismissal still stung. And such unfairness! Did they not want Gongmen City to grow even greater than it already was? With new weapons technology, they could control the entire eastern coast—maybe even much of China. But no. Instead of praise for his forward-thinking, Shen was given only curt disapproval.

Some days it felt like they disapproved of _everything_ their son tried to accomplish. As he'd grown older, the peacock prince had tried to affect a cool front, tried to act as if his mother and father's dismissal did not phase him.

But still he strove for their recognition. Shen carried out his experiments because he enjoyed them, but even now there was always that shadow of inadequacy, of not being good enough. Really, nothing had changed.

And so it was in such a melancholy mood that Shen went about his calculations tonight, and his efforts were half-hearted at best. If only his parents would just take a moment to _look_ at his findings, then they would understand the true greatness that fireworks could offer. They had the potential to be so much more than mere entertainment. Shen was sure he could show his parents too if only they would pay attention to him long enough...

"Enough of this!" Shen shouted to no one in particular. "Enough... I will not mope here like a scolded child," he continued, grumbling under his breath. Quickly, the prince began reaching for plans and notes. No more messengers, he would see his parents personally. Now—right now before his courage failed him. They shouldn't have any appointments at this hour, and if they tried to brush him aside as was their usual tactic, then Shen would be insistent and not take no for an answer.

It was frustrating how they never took him seriously, how they still considered him weak. With his new firework designs, Shen would show his parents just how powerful he could be.

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Outside there was already a blanket of snow upon the ground and from overhead a sputtering of fresh snowflakes had begun to fall.

For safety's sake, the peafowls' respective workshops were located away from the Tower of the Sacred Flame and most of the other structures in the enclosed courtyard. Considering the volatile nature of the chemicals and powders used to manufacture the fireworks, it had long since been deemed for the best to build the stone-walled laboratories away from any more flammable structures.

And so to get to his parents' throne room where they would most likely still be, Shen had to first traipse across the palace grounds amidst the gathering snow. Carefully, he tucked his drawings into his robe to shield them from any errant snowflakes. Winter felt especially cold this year, and Shen shivered beneath his grey silk robe. His charcoal-hued cloak didn't block nearly all of the wind chill either.

The Tower was pleasantly warmer at least, and Shen sighed as he eased back the hood on his cloak. The prince fluffed his tail feathers briefly to shake the water from them before he began his ascent up the Tower's many staircases. While the sheer number of steps was often daunting to visitors, Shen had grown accustomed to walking at least some amount of them daily and no longer grew winded from the effort. Indeed, this evening he was rather grateful for their presence. It gave him a chance to collect himself and practice what he would say to his parents.

Master Flying Rhino and Soothsayer Lan were right: if he was reasonable and did not lose his temper, his parents would understand. Shen would show them as many diagrams as they wanted. Even though the prince had yet to conduct field tests, he had the utmost faith in his calculations.

By the time Shen reached the throne room, he had gotten his agitation rather well under control, and as the peacock neared the great reception hall's door, the murmur of multiple voices greeted his ears. There were his mother and father, yes, and also the Soothsayer. Good. Shen could address them all at once. After his parents, his nanny had been the loudest voice in opposition to his experiments. Too dangerous, she said, that fireworks' best purpose was a source of celebration and beauty, that Shen was tampering with things best not meddled with.

Shen would show her too.

The prince raised his wing to knock on the main entrance, but something about the low—almost worried—tones of the voices stopped him. Shen couldn't quite say why he did it, but instead of announcing his presence, Shen turned and ducked down a side hall that ran parallel to the throne room. At the end was a little doorway—meant for servants to enter and leave discreetly—and Shen opened the door as quietly as he was able, slipping softly into the elaborate main hall.

Rich curtains of imperial purple draped the perimeter of the room, hanging in between the columns and casting shadows there. In his charcoal-colored cloak, even Shen could go unnoticed amongst the gloom. The rest of the huge room glowed dim amber from lanterns hung around the throne. But oddly, that was the only light. This must be an informal meeting.

In the room's center, Shen's parents stood in a sad little huddle, and kneeling on the ground before them was Lan with her scrying bowl. A fortune-telling then? The prince watched with widening eyes as Lan dropped a piece of Shen's own robe into the bowl and then a couple handfuls of brightly colored powders.

"I see darkness..." Lan intoned, eyes rolling a little as her strange gift took hold of her. The bowl shifted rhythmically in her grasp as she continued. "I see sorrow...families grief stricken and torn apart..."

The contents in the bowl flared up, and Shen watched in fearful amazement as smoke fanned out into the glorious plumage of a white peacock. But in the next instant, the silhouette was consumed by a spinning yin-yang.

"If Prince Shen continues on his current path...he will be defeated by a warrior of black and white..."

And that was the end of Lan's prediction. She came back to herself, looking very worn and older than usual. As the throne room hung in eerie stillness, a horrified Prince Shen felt a roaring in his ears like an explosion.

He would be killed? A warrior who was black and white...? The image of a panda slowly came to mind; Shen had seen a couple of them in his short life. Those pandas had been big though they'd seemed harmless enough, but still they were _bears_. That was something stronger than most animals—and much stronger then a peacock. Surely such a panda warrior would be formidable indeed. Shen shivered fearfully at the thought, feeling very small and fragile all of a sudden and hating himself for it.

In the throne room's center, the King was the first to speak. "Is this...our fault?" Jiang asked, an unusual note of hesitation in his voice. His wife hushed him gently though.

"There is some blame on us f-for our inattention, that is certain, but it's not too late, surely?" She turned hopeful eyes toward the Soothsayer. "These are images of what _might_ be, yes? Not what will be?"

"Not yet, but this storm is coming quickly, my Lady," Lan cautioned softly.

Jiang stood a little straighter, wrapping a wing around his queen and tucking her close. "Then there is still time. I admit I have often felt like I don't understand that boy, not even a little, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him..."

"We cannot let this happen," Queen Nuo added solemnly. "We...we have been absent from his life too long, kept our distance perhaps too much."

"Perhaps?" Lan questioned pointedly, and Shen was grimly satisfied to note the whiff of accusation in her voice.

The King and Queen wilted under the goat's hard gaze. "We _will_ alter this future," Jiang stated firmly. "We have ignored warning signs and made excuses...but no longer. Prince Shen is too precious for us to abandon him to such a fate."

There had already been signs of a panda rebellion, and his parents had not countered them...? That was not a pleasant thought. And yet through the chill of fear, Shen felt his heart swell with a tiny flicker of warmth. His father said he was precious to them. His parents loved him... When was the last time the prince had felt like he was loved by them? Unsurprisingly, he couldn't remember. Shen's first instinct was to quit his hiding place and go embrace his parents, to tell them he loved them too, but just barely he stopped himself from moving.

No, this was not the way. True, it would be a sweet reunion to go to his family now and end this estrangement, but that was _not the way_. If he went to his parents now, they would insist on handling the prophecy's dark threats for him. They would have the best of intentions, but the outcome would still be Shen hiding behind his parents.

Shen wanted to fight his own battles, to prove that he was someone strong that his parents could be proud of.

_Mother, Father... I'll be back soon_, Shen thought. The two older peafowl didn't see it of course, but from the shadows, Shen looked at them with the tenderest of smiles. Wings tips shaking a little, the prince stealthily snuck out of the throne room.

Eschewing the stairs, Shen found the nearest window and cleared the distance from the Tower's top to the ground in a single steady glide. Shen would have to move rapidly if he wanted to mobilize and have everything together before his parents came to find him. He was frightened, yes, but he could do this. The prince would take care of the panda threat on his own.

Well...not entirely on his own. Shen would lead this expedition—his first—by himself, but he would still need soldiers _to_ lead. He couldn't ask just anyone though. The antelope guards and Master Flying Rhino would want to consult with the King and Queen first before taking any action. Shen needed soldiers who would take _his_ orders without second-guessing.

With quick steps and an even more quickly beating heart, Shen raced towards the palace barracks where he was sure he would find his wolf friend, Lin.

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tbc...


	3. chapter 2: A Promise Made

Tucked inside away from the winter cold, the wolf Lin was holed up in the barracks training hall working late again.

He sat in a corner between the sword rack and a stack of shields. In front of the young wolf, sheets of paper and sketches were spread out across the flagstone floor as he tried to piece together a suitable set-up. Lin was nervous but excited as he prepared a training routine of his own design. It was a test of sorts, not one of his regular duties. However, the leader of their pack Captain Lena felt it was necessary that Lin learned such things, and the sooner the better. It was no secret that she was grooming Lin to be her successor—and not just as leader of their pack but also someday captain of Gongmen City's wolf guard contingent.

And what a successor Lin would be! He was already the strongest and the fastest of the up-and-coming soldiers, and he also displayed a resolute discipline, an especially remarkable thing considering he was not much older than a youth.

Just this autumn he had been promoted to lieutenant's rank—quite the accomplishment for someone at the tender age of nineteen—and even the most cynical members of the pack had grudgingly acknowledged that he'd secured the position on entirely his own merit. It didn't matter that Captain Lena was Lin's mother. If anything, she was actually harder on him than she was on the other junior soldiers. In a way, Lin even appreciated that. He preferred to earn what he wanted rather than to curry favors.

And speaking of his mother...

"Lin? Are you in there?"

Lin looked up as an older wolf stepped onto the threshold of the training hall. She had a handsome if somewhat aged face and stood with an officer's easy confidence. But presently she was out of uniform and looking ready to leave.

"Yes, mother?" Lin asked, addressing her informally. If she was off-duty, there was no need for them to greet with ranks.

She took in the sight of all his papers and drawings and laughed warmly, lantern light reflected in her golden eyes. Lin got his maroon eyes from his father. "Working late are you?" she inquired, leaning her wiry frame against the doorjamb. "Don't skip dinner."

"I ate early!" Lin protested, ever her son. Lin noticed how she lingered at the entrance. This wasn't about making small talk. "Did you need me for something, mother?"

The laughter slowly left her face. "Not for me, but probably for Prince Shen."

"He summoned me?" Lin sighed, looking down at his training plans. He was _so_ close to getting a workable draft. Perhaps he could quickly wrap things up here first and then go find Shen... "If there's a messenger waiting, they can tell Shen that I'll meet him soon."

"The Prince came himself actually, and I instructed him to wait in my office for you."

Lin stood slowly, papers forgotten. "Is he alright?"

Lena smirked. "He said he was though I'm sure that's an utter lie. At least he doesn't appear to be injured. Nonetheless, I think you should go now, Lin. It seemed serious, and Prince Shen is not the sort for pranks."

"Yes, ma'am."

When Lin got to the door, his mother paused him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I'm going straight home for the night so you'll know where to find me if you need me."

"Thank you." Lin smiled his goodnights before plucking his cloak off a peg by the door. Turning down the hall, he walked quickly toward his mother's office.

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When Lin saw Shen, he immediately understood the reason for his mother's uneasiness. The peacock looked bereft, utterly wretched even.

"Shen..." There was something frighteningly desperate and manic in the peacock's eyes that made Lin want to take a step back.

"Lin, my truest friend, you're here." The peacock's voice had a strange lilt to it. Shen rushed over to the wolf, and Lin reached out to grasp hold of the other's wingtip, trying to offer comfort which Shen clearly appeared to be in need of. "I knew you'd be here; I knew I could depend on you..." Shen glanced hesitantly toward the doorway. "Where is the Captain? Did she go?"

"Yes, she just left. Shen, what are—"

"There's no time!" the peacock interrupted. "This is a matter of life and death, and I want every soldier loyal to _you_ ready to move now! Now!"

"_What_? Wait, will you just—"

Shen snatched his wing from Lin's paws. "I gave you an order, and I want it followed! All the wolves that you trust must be armed and ready to march immediately!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"There's _no time_!"

Snarling with exasperation, Lin reached behind himself to shut the office door before anyone overheard their arguing. "Damn it, Shen, there is nothing so pressing that it can't wait even two minutes for you to explain the situation to me." Lin reached out and gripped Shen's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "Now tell me what's going on."

At first the prince looked like he wanted to quarrel further, but eventually he went still, face grim. "Fine."

And then Shen started to explain.

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When at last the prince had finished speaking, Lin sat on the floor with his face in his paws. Discussing the situation aloud seemed to have calmed the peacock somewhat. Lin wished he could say the same for himself. His stomach was already tying itself in knots.

"Are you serious? Are you fucking serious?" It was almost too much to believe.

"I heard it myself from my parents' own beaks," Shen murmured, sounding as if—bravado aside—he might not fully have wrapped his head around this either.

Lin rubbed at his eyes, trying to find his bearings. "Putting down a rebellion is no game, no training exercise. This is _real_."

"I know." Shen crouched down beside the wolf, and Lin felt the peacock push his paws away so that they could face each other. "Lin, I need you. There's no one else I can trust with this, not even Lan."

"A panda rebellion... A panda warrior who wants to kill you... How could your parents allow such unrest to linger so long that it turned into outright rebellion?"

"You know how my parents are," Shen hissed, voice leaking hurt. "They think everything can be solved with courteous diplomacy. Military matters have never been their priority. They—" However, just as quickly as it had turned resentful, Shen's expression softened. "But they've seen the error of their ways. I think. They want to protect me."

"Then why not _let_ them? Why do you want to—"

"Because I can't let my parents solve my problems forever!" Shen retorted in aggravation. "Always I have been called weak and worthless, but if I defeat this panda threat myself, no one will doubt me ever again! Will you not help me, Lin?"

"Shen, you know I would never abandon you..."

"And think of yourself too and your wolves," Shen continued. "I see the disparaging looks you're given, the suspicion. Even after all the hard work your mother has done to prove your pack's respectability, you and the others are still treated like riffraff.

"Haven't you said to me in the past that you'd do anything to show your pack's worth? What if this is your chance?"

Lin inhaled sharply at the thought. To do this thing in defense of Gongmen City, would that really make a difference in the wolves' social standing—perhaps even wipe the slate clean at last? Shen's words sounded too good to be true...

The covert reminders of the wolf pack's corrupt past were there in the disapproving stares leveled at them. Thieves, predators—that's what Gongmen City's "proper" citizens thought of wolves. And Captain Lena... She'd held so strongly to her principles, that honor _meant_ something, but still far too many of the city folk simply saw her as a criminal always just a step away from going back to her unsavory past.

Like most of his lupine peers, Lin had been born in Gongmen City, but even as a child, he'd watched his family and people still be treated as outsiders. Such mistrust was something Lin had struggled against for as long as he could remember, a glass ceiling that he sometimes couldn't seem to break through.

King Jiang and Queen Nuo seemed to believe the best of their newest citizens and were pleased with the wolves as guardians, but even their favor only helped so much. Oh what would it be like to prove once and for all that the wolf pack belonged here too? Would intervening for Shen now finally accomplish that...?

"We've always been outsiders, haven't we?" Shen's voice was solemn, breaking Lin's concentration, and the wolf looked up to listen to the prince's words. "I know the unfairness you've felt for I have felt it too. Outlaws and bad omens, that's what they think of us."

Shen's eyes blazed with that red fire. "But we _can_ change it. We can change fate and carve out the respect that we_ deserve_, that has been denied us for too long. We can do it if you'll help me."

And Lin felt it, resolve like steel holding steady beneath the butterflies of nervousness, and there was also the desire to protect Shen, the best friend who had for so long been at his side. Really, Lin's decision had been imminent before Shen even asked for it. "I...yes. Yes, alright, I'll do it."

Shen's smile was somewhat unsettling, but then this whole ordeal was far more serious than anything either of them had ever encountered before. "You must hurry and ready your wolves."

"Wait, not just yet. We're also going to need some help, more than what I'll be able to muster up on my own, anyway."

Shen narrowed his eyes, not quite following. "I cannot imagine that your mother would help us without first addressing my parents..."

But Lin shook his head. "Not her. I had someone else in mind: my uncle Feng."

The wolf held in an irritated sigh as he watched Shen's beak turn up in a condescending sneer. "That bandit trash?" the peacock questioned scornfully.

"That 'bandit trash', as you put it, has more sway with some of the older members of the pack than I do."

"You mean the older members who refused to give up their thieving ways until they were forcibly subdued," Shen added pointedly. "He's not honorable or trustworthy like the wolves that followed your mother."

"Questionable backgrounds aside, Feng's faction would about double our numbers, and they have been on military campaigns—something you and I have only read about or studied but never _done_." Lin pressed on, not letting Shen get a word in. When the peacock got this agitated, the only way to talk him back to a sensible place was to throw more logic at him than he could argue with.

"Shen, you know I have your back always—would lay down my life for you even—but what good would we do if we failed to put down a rebellion because we didn't have enough troops? What would your parents say then? Provided you lived long enough to be taken to task."

The peacock's crest flared and flattened, and Lin watched his friend weigh the options. "They'd say I was an arrogant child who should've let them handle the matter," the prince finally snapped, words bitter with frustration. "Alright, go see your uncle," the prince conceded.

"I will at once," Lin replied, hoping that he sounded more confident about this than he felt.

Shen smoothed his crest, aiming for some modicum of composure, but Lin could see that frenzied nervousness that still gleamed in his friend's eyes. "Before you go, give me a timetable. How soon can we be mobilized?"

"One hour for me, probably two for my uncle if he agrees, and I'd say another five in traveling if we move at a steady march. And that's a minimum, Shen," Lin added before the peacock could start grumbling. Privately, the wolf didn't think Shen could sustain more than a steady march anyway. Even with all his training, the peacock was still constrained by his poor health, and it would do no good for him to show up to battle already exhausted. "At that rate, we'll arrive at the White Valley panda settlement a couple of hours before dawn."

"That is a good time to strike," Shen finally admitted thoughtfully. "The dark would provide some stealth to our mission."

"Exactly," Lin agreed. "I'll go find Feng now." Already he was throwing on his cloak to ward off the winter chill. "And there's one other thing, Shen. Feng isn't the charitable type, especially not to a member of the royal family who ordered his defeat. He and his wolves will want some favor I'm certain..."

"Very well," came the peacock's terse reply. "I can arrange that much at least. We haven't the time though to quibble over promises. Tell Feng that if he assists me now, then he may trust to my sincere gratitude when this mess is all sorted out."

Lin managed a wan smile. "Thank you, Shen." Of all the wolves in Gongmen City, Feng and his lot were the worst off. They were the most mistrusted, and it was only thanks to Captain Lena that they were accorded even the most basic civility. Indeed for them, a prince's goodwill would be too enticing an asset to refuse. "Is there anything else...?"

"No." Shen folded his wingtips into his sleeves and stood proudly as Lin had often seen the king and queen do. "Just meet me at the city's south gate in three hours time. I shall be ready, Lieutenant."

Lin gave a formal bow at the doorway. "Very well, Lord Shen."

Drawing his cloak close to keep out the chilly air, Lin bounded off into the darkening twilight and headed toward the city docks.

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tbc...

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**Author Note**: Argh, this chapter was hard! I really tried to balance a lot of things, especially Lin and Shen's determination vs. their inexperience. I also wanted to do my best to make Lin's decision to help Shen seem rational. Lin's still got his honor...for the moment anyway.

Next chapter will be from Feng's point of view, and that will introduce the last of this story's three main players.

Thank you, everyone, for your reviews and favorites, and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic!


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